Insurance Helpline link-up aims to boost diabetic cover

14 June 2007

Specialist broker Insurance Helpline has teamed up with pharmaceutical giant Abbott Diabetes Care to help people with pre-existing diabetic conditions get cover.

Abbott produces FreeStyle blood glucose monitoring systems to help people control their condition.

Insurance Helpline, which is a subsidiary of Totally Insured Group, will supply monitoring systems free to any person with diabetes who asks for a quote.

The company says that if a diabetic person's blood glucose reading is 9.1 per cent, they could face a loading of around 325 per cent, increasing a £20 premium to £80 a month, based on Friends Provident cover.

But with regular monitoring, they could reduce their reading to around 6 per cent, slashing the load to 125 per cent meaning the premium would only rise from £20 to £40 a month.

Totally Insured Group managing director Ron Moonsinghe says: "Partnering with a substantial and ethically sound company such as Abbott Diabetes Care can help deliver the message that having diabetes does not necessarily mean that you are uninsurable.

"This exclusive partnership will help more diabetic people control their illnesses and, as a result, find affordable life insurance. It is a win-win situation."

Last month, Insurance Helpline signed a deal with IFA network In Partnership.

In Partnership compliance director Gordon McNeill says: "We see it as a way to add value to our members to help them work, giving evidence of treating customers fairly.

'Using Insurance Helpline, the adviser can help their client get cover when they thought they would never get it and not just give up after the first life office says sorry."